It Just Makes Sense
by JWriter2010
Summary: After the Cell Games, Gohan is still struggling with the death of his father. He has pushed away his closest friend and mentor, while abandoning fighting and school work. Piccolo has had enough of watching his former student throw his life away. He spent too much time training the boy for it to go to waste. Shounen-ai in later chapters, no Yaoi.
1. Prologue: Following Mr Piccolo

**A/N: Ok, so first chapter! Doing a little housekeeping. First thing: While Piccolo and Gohan are my favorite characters, and I love their relationship, I definitely was not a believer in Piccolo/Gohan. Dragonball Z, to me, had depicted Piccolo and Gohan's relationship perfectly as a mentor/student relationship. I always thought of Piccolo as Gohan's Dad since Goku was hardly ever around. Then I caved and read what fanfiction had to say on Piccolo/Gohan. I was amazed at how well-written they were. I actually found a few that reduced me to tears. Inspired, I changed my way of thinking. I like the cannon, but I am now totally open to the idea of an AU where Piccolo/Gohan exists! As a writer, I knew I had to write a fanfiction myself. The storyline has been exploding in my head, begging to be written. Secondly, I will bring this up now, I know nothing of Japanese anime fanfiction terms and etc. I've only written fanfictions based on stories set in fantasy worlds based on Western culture. However, from what I've found, I guess the words for what I am writing are "Shouen-ai, No Yaoi." Giving it a T rating as a precaution because I'm not 100% on where I'll take this story. Next order of business: Frequency of updates will vary greatly! I just started my freshman year of college. My work is way easy now, but later, I might get into some harder stuff. I'm a Physics major, so I don't doubt I will be very busy at some point and unable to update as often as I'd like to. Ok, onto fourth point -Where I will be starting this story. I don't like anything after the Cell Saga. Buu was ok, but definitely not my favorite Saga. Death literally means nothing, as demonstrated by Goku(who will NOT be coming back in this story. He might talk to them through King Kai at some point, however.) Great Saiyaman was amusing, but I didn't like it. Especially when Videl joined in. And GT. Don't get me started. It didn't happen. So I will be starting at this point: It is one week after the Cell Saga. Majority of the story will be Gohan's POV. When it is not Gohan, it will be Piccolo's -unless at some point I feel it is necessary to go to some other character's thoughts. Speaking of thoughts, some writers put them in quotes like actual speech, but I feel it is neater stylistically to just put them in italics. Just a heads up, especially since I start the story with a thought. Oh, and obviously I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z or any of the characters. Not sure why anyone would need to note that since in should be common sense being on a fanfiction website, but out of caution, I will put that in this note**.

_Dead. He's dead forever._ Gohan was still in bed. His alarm clock told him it was 2:53 p.m. He knew Piccolo had told him the past seven days to meet the Namekian by the waterfall at dawn for training, but Gohan couldn't gather the strength to leave his room. The closest he'd gotten to leaving was the day before when got up to walk across the room and look out the window. He had almost opened it to fly away, but something stopped him. His mother, though she wasn't taking the news well either, understood and brought Gohan his meals everyday. Not once had she mentioned studying.

And Gohan didn't study. It wasn't like he didn't try. Of course he'd go to his desk and open a textbook. But there was no will to study. Why bother? You live for a bit. And then you die. Just like your dad. And his dad. And his dad. And everyone else who had the misfortune of living in this miserable universe. So instead of doing anything constructive with his life, Gohan sat. And sat. And sat in his room.

He rolled over in his bed. _Will this ever end? Why couldn't he take me with him? Why couldn't I have gone instead?_ Gohan felt a warm tear roll down his face. It didn't seem fair to him. Life. Who chooses who lives and who dies? Why do things happen the way they do?

_Kid, you have got to stop this._ Piccolo. He heard his mentor's voice in his head. No. Not mentor. Not anymore. Gohan didn't want to do the fighting thing anymore. Gohan ignored him. Piccolo had tried to talk to Gohan every day since Cell was defeated. Every day, Gohan ignored him. _Gohan. Listen to me._ Gohan covered his head, as if that would prevent the voice from reaching his mind. Piccolo was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Gohan felt ashamed. Yes, he had fought well, but it was his fault his dad was dead. He had let his cockiness get the best of him during the battle with Cell. If he would have killed Cell when he was told to…_GOHAN! If you don't stop ignoring me….you know what? I'm coming over there. I'm done with this nonsense. I swear, you're acting like a child right now._

Maybe it was a little childish to face problems by sitting in bed all day ignoring your problems. Maybe. Gohan sat up and stared at the wall. How did normal people deal with grief? He didn't even know how to be human anymore. He'd been away from normal life for so long at this point. Gohan's earliest memories were algebra and Piccolo's training. There were hardly any "normal" memories. School. Fighting. School. Fighting. It was his whole life. Now, he was giving up both.

Gohan felt his former mentor's ki approaching. Then, he heard a heavy knock on the front door. Footsteps. They were light. Obviously his mother's and not his grandpa's. "Chi-Chi, where is Gohan?" As if he needed to ask.

"He is in his room, but, Piccolo, he is in no state for visitors. I would appreciate-"

"Woman, I have no time for this. I am going to speak to him." No surprise there. Gohan heard his mother's protests intensify as footsteps neared his bedroom door. The door creaked open.

"Go away," Gohan said, launching a pillow towards the intruder. The pillow was just barely caught before it could make contact with the target.

Piccolo tossed the pillow aside and stood, leaning against the frame of the door. "Kid, you're a mess."

Gohan, now slightly self conscious, absently made an attempt to flatten his hair. "Yeah, well you don't look so great yourself sometimes, but I don't make it a point to comment." He grabbed the shirt on his nightstand and put it on. Okay, maybe being dressed only in your underwear at three o'clock in the evening could qualify you as being a "mess."

For several minutes, the two remained silent. Through the whole time, Gohan felt that Piccolo was scanning him, trying to assess the situation. Finally, he gave up. The silence was too much. He dropped the silence with the one question on his mind. One question he had already answered himself, but needed a second opinion to confirm. "Piccolo? It's my fault, isn't it?"

Confusion crossed the Namekian's face. "What?"

"You know, is it my fault? The...Cell Games?" Gohan turned away. He couldn't look Piccolo in the eyes. The guilt was stronger than any other feelings he had ever felt, maybe even stronger than the anger he had felt when Cell had attacked his friends.

**_A green monster stood across from Gohan as he took his father's place to fight. This wasn't his battle; he wanted no part of it. In fact, he was sure he would lose. While he apprehensively took a fighting stance, hoping his training didn't fail him in this battle, he couldn't help but notice his father. Goku. He was so full of confidence in his son's abilities. But why? If Goku couldn't beat the monster, what made him think Gohan could? Gohan wished Piccolo could stop it. Piccolo, the one who truly cared for him. Who would never let anything happen to Gohan. Until now. Now, when there was nothing he could do but sit back and watch his student die._**

Gohan gasped and buried his head in his hands. There it was again. The flashback. The past few days, especially when he slept, Gohan would have flashbacks to the battle. Sometimes, they were short. Just the monster's laugh. Or the last time he saw his dad's face. Or Piccolo's anger when he thought Cell had killed Gohan in the beginning of the battle. But others were long and painful. The struggle between his friends and the Cell Juniors. Cell's various transformations. Android 16's death. Each one made him want to die so that he wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.

When Gohan looked up again, Piccolo was by his side. "Gohan, are you all right?"

"I'm...I'm fine," Gohan lied.

"Yeah, right. And I'm King Kai. Look, Gohan, it wasn't your fault. We all make mistakes. The strength you had...it was...I understand you thought you could win. That was logical. Hell, we could all see that you were stronger than him. You had no way of knowing that he would do that. Yes, it was a stupid, arrogant thing to do, but that doesn't make it your fault."

Gohan felt his ki rising. He did nothing to stop it. What was the point? He'd been taught to keep it down in case of enemies searching for a strong ki, but there weren't anymore enemies to worry about now. "I just want to be left alone. I deserve to suffer through this. I brought it upon myself."

"Pack your stuff. We're leaving." Piccolo's voice betrayed no emotion. Gohan knew it was useless to argue. He went to his closet and tossed his old, orange gi into a backpack and left the weighted cape behind. He didn't know if the gi even fit anymore since it had been so long since he had worn it last, but he no longer felt worthy of dressing like his mentor.

**_"He's just a scared eleven year old boy!"_**

Gohan shuddered, pausing for a moment before zipping the backpack. "Do I need anything else?"

Piccolo didn't respond for a moment. Then, he seemed to have an idea. "Bring a few of your school books."

"Why?" There was a hint of a whine to Gohan's voice, something that hadn't been there since his training as a small child. He couldn't help it. He didn't want to waste more of his life on books. Maybe if he had spent more time training than studying those dumb things...

"Because I told you too! Do you need another reason?

Gohan was confused, but he wasn't going to argue with the Namekian's request. The tone suggested it was non-negotiable. Pressing the issue would only cause more trouble in the long run. Reluctantly, Gohan tossed a calculus book in with his clothes, followed by one on molecular biology and, to round out his selection, a book of advanced language and literature he'd never seen before. He assumed his mother had gotten it for him recently. Piccolo took off out the window. Gohan looked around the room one last time and followed. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that he should cherish every second in a particular place. You never know when -or if- you will ever return.


	2. Chapter 1: Everything Has Changed

**A/N: An update? So soon? Awesome! Guess I have more time on my hands at the moment than I thought(Lies. I actually should be doing homework right now, but I'm trying to procrastinate.) Anyway, last "chapter" was sort of a prologue-y thing-y because I like prologues to introduce the reader to the real story. I showed you where the story "began." Also, there is a confusing flashback-thing in this chapter. You will be able to tell that this one isn't one of Gohan's memories, but rather more of a dreamy thing that turns into one of the flashbacks. I am aiming for clarity for all reading this! Comments on my ability to do this are welcome. I am trying to improve on transitioning and story detail in my writing. That's the main reason I am doing this: as a writing exercise! I don't want to get out of the habit of writing. "Chapter 1: Everything has Changed" starts five years after the prologue. Gohan has been training with Piccolo during this time (not by choice) and has learned control over the Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Some of this training will be revealed but some won't be revealed until later if at all. So enjoy! Please review with constructive criticism!**

"Ow, Piccolo!" Gohan exclaimed as his arm was grazed by an energy blast. He had just barely moved out of the way in time for it to miss doing damage. He stared at the burn in disbelief. Within five seconds, he was on the ground. "Hey! Not fair!" He squirmed under his mentor's foot. It was futile. He was pinned down.

"Will you pay attention?" Piccolo snapped. "How many fights have you fought? The same lesson, every time! What kind of enemy is going to sit there without attacking while you just stare at your injuries?"

"I'm sorry! I won't do it again! Just let me up! We've been training for twelve hours now. What do you expect? I'm hungry!"

"You're worse now than you were when you were a kid!"

"I'm growing! I need more food than I did back then!" Arguments like these were an everyday occurrence. Gohan assumed Piccolo was trying to train him to control his appetite. The pressure on the Saiyan's chest was alleviated. He jumped to his feet. Piccolo walked a few paces and sat down to meditate, levitating a few feet off the ground as soon as he was in the lotus position. That meant Gohan was free to go get food.

Gohan walked down to the riverside. Fish. One of the easiest, most dependable food sources in the area. It was a bit of a struggle to find a fish big enough to be his meal, but usually one was available. He just had to do a little searching. He went through the usual routine: find a fish, wait, snatch it out of the water, build a fire, cook, and eat. As Gohan finished his fish, he felt that Piccolo's ki was not where he had left Piccolo. They were right behind him. Two apples fell into Gohan's lap. "Hi, Piccolo!"

"Yes, hello, Gohan. I see you weren't paying attention to surrounding ki again. Even while you are eating you should be on guard."

"Sorry, I really-"

"Save your apologies, kid. How's your arm?"

Gohan blinked in surprise. Piccolo never cared about his injuries. Okay, maybe he cared, but he never asked how they were doing. How strong was that energy blast? He looked down at the burn. There was a huge welt where the blast had singed his skin. "It's fine, I guess. Not bothering me or anything," he said, absently picking up an apple and examining it before taking a bite.

Piccolo grumbled something unintelligible before taking a seat beside Gohan. That was new, too. "Gohan, what is the derivative of sine?"

"Wha-" Bam! Gohan flew through the air and slammed into a tree. He cringed as he crumbled to the ground. Mental drills. One of Gohan's least favorite parts of the day. It was the reason Piccolo had Gohan bring his school books five years earlier.

_ "Gohan, we're going to try a new type of training. I hate doing this to myself, but I want you to teach me some of your books. Then, as a drill, I will quiz you on the material as we fight. How fast you can answer a question correctly will dictate the severity of the day's training drill."_

_ Gohan looked up at his mentor with a grin. "So I get to teach you for once? Cool!"_

_ "Yeah, kid, cool. Definitely the word I would have used to describe it," Piccolo growled. Gohan ignored Piccolo's irritation and ran to get his books for the first lesson. It wasn't every day you had a chance to teach your teacher._

After the drills, training was over. It was meditation time. For that, the two always went to the waterfall to sit, eyes closed, quiet until Piccolo sent Gohan to bed. Piccolo always actually meditated, but Gohan never could. He tried his best to hide it from Piccolo, but he was sure his mentor knew something was up. Every time Gohan had tried to meditate, the flashbacks came back. He thought he'd gotten rid of those a few years ago, but a month ago, when he tried to meditate for the first time since starting training, they started up again. Worse, while meditating, he couldn't get away from them. The grip they had on his mind was too strong.

Since that day, he stuck to just closing his eyes and thinking. Recently, his thoughts were changing. He used to just think about life. Now…now they focused on his mentor. Piccolo. Everything, his laugh, his smirk of pride when Gohan won a spar, the way he held back -but denied doing so- when he knew Gohan was having a rough day. Gohan was baffled about his thoughts. They weren't just normal thoughts. He actually felt himself… sort of attracted to the Namekian. During training, he got distracted, because he let his mind drift to think about Piccolo's physique. It was strange. Confusing. He didn't know what to think of it. He wanted to ask someone what it meant, but he couldn't ask Piccolo.

Gohan opened his eyes to look over at his mentor. Piccolo was completely focused on his meditation. He never lost focus when meditating. Well, almost never. There was that one time, two years ago when Gohan was still training to control his ascended Super Saiyan form. Piccolo was meditating, and Gohan was feeling particularly mischievous. He shot straight from his base form to ascended Super Saiyan, a risky transformation, but it had the desired effect. His mentor jolted out of his meditative state rather abruptly, a sight which amused Gohan. Of course, the action didn't come without punishment. Piccolo reprimanded him and added five hours onto the day's sparring lesson. Even today, Gohan would say it was worth it.

The only sounds around were the sound of the waterfall and the sound of Piccolo's cape fluttering in the wind. It was quite peaceful. Focusing on the sound of the waterfall, Gohan felt his eyelids grow heavy. Before he knew it, he was gone.

**_ Gohan sat flipping through a dissertation on the basic principles of quantum mechanics. He couldn't help smiling to himself as he caught flaws in the author's grasp of the subject. Closing the book, he stood and stretched. Piccolo appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. Gohan didn't think anything of it. "Gohan, are you finished studying yet?"_**

**_ "Of course! This guy has it all wrong anyway." Gohan ran to Piccolo, wrapping his arms around him, kissing his cheek. "Where have you been all day?" Suddenly, Gohan felt hands around his throat as he was shoved away, lifted into the air._**

**_ "Where's that anger, kid?" The cruel laugh was unmistakable. Gohan looked down at his attack to see that Piccolo had transformed into Cell. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. There was no way to get Cell to let him go. Gohan tried to scream, but nothing would come out. His vision blurred. Then, he was falling._**

"Gohan!" Gohan hit the water hard. He struggled to get his head above the water as the waves tossed him. He felt too weak to move. Then, he was lifted out of the water and tossed roughly to shore. His vision faded and he was out again.

* * *

Piccolo carried Gohan over to the cave. He wasn't sure what had happened. One moment, the kid was meditating beside him; the next, Gohan's ki fluctuated wildly before dropping to almost zero and he dropped out of the sky. Piccolo blamed himself for not recognizing something was wrong immediately. He thought the kid was just up to one of his tricks.

Once in the cave, he gently put Gohan on the ground, turning to the stack of wood in the cave to start a fire. Even after all these years with Gohan, he still didn't know how to fix human -or Saiyan- injuries or how to tell what was wrong. He just knew the basics: being cold and wet was bad, being out in the sun without water was bad, going too long without eating could be crippling to a Saiyan warrior, and neither species could regenerate any limbs with the apparent exception of the Saiyan tail.

Piccolo growled in irritation as he sat across from Gohan. The kid looked so peaceful now. His breathing was back to normal. So what happened when he was meditating? This wasn't even the first time it had happened. Several times he had watched his student go through cycles like this. One moment, he would be fine. The next, it was almost as if he were in a battle. His ki would become unstable before dropping drastically from what it should have been.

It was frustrating to be helpless, to be able to do nothing but watch. _Damn it, kid. I almost lost you once. Don't put me through this again._ Piccolo was angry. He didn't know toward whom his anger was directed, though. He was angry with Cell still for what the monster had done to his pupil. He was angry at Goku for dying and putting Gohan through so much stress that no child should have to go through. He was angry with Gohan for getting so close and making Piccolo care about him as a result. But most of all, Piccolo was angry with himself. He did his best never to show a weakness, yet obviously the kid had become his weakness. He knew he would never forgive himself if something happened to Gohan. During the Cell Games, it killed him when Goku sent Gohan to fight in his place. Piccolo would have taken the kid's place in a heartbeat if he would have had the strength to fight the monster himself. And for just a moment, when he thought Cell had killed Gohan… And now, watching Gohan struggle with whatever problem he was facing, Piccolo felt the feeling of helplessness return.

The Namekian gritted his teeth in frustration. There he went again. Being weak. Pathetic. There was no reason for him to have feelings like that for the boy. There was no reason to actually care. It's not like the boy felt the same way about him. Sure Gohan seemed to like him and considered him a friend, but it would never be more than that. Piccolo knew he would just have to accept that fact. Love and respect were not the same thing. Love. Piccolo made a face as the word crossed his mind. No. That was foolish. He didn't_ love_ the kid. He was concerned for Gohan's well-being. He was not weak. He had no sappy, pathetic emotions toward anyone.

But deep in the recesses of his mind, Piccolo knew he was lying to himself.

* * *

Gohan woke feeling sore all over. His back, legs, arms, everything. His neck throbbed and his throat felt swollen shut. He opened his eyes, staring at the roof of the cave. He had no strength left to move. What had happened? "Piccolo?" Gohan croaked weakly, sensing his mentor's ki nearby.

"Gohan? You're awake."

"What happened?" Piccolo didn't respond. "Piccolo?"

"Don't talk. You're straining yourself. I have no idea, kid. You have some serious work to do with controlling whatever the heck that was."

Gohan used what strength he had to pull himself into an upright position, propping himself up against the cave wall. Then, he thought about something: what he had been doing before he went unconscious. "I was meditating, wasn't I?" he asked out loud before he could catch himself. As soon as he did, he gasped and covered his mouth with his hands. Too late.

Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean were you meditating? Gohan, is there something you're not telling me?"

Gohan chuckled nervously, dropping his hands to his sides. He pondered the best way to tell his mentor that he was still having visions. And that the visions, though less frequent, were getting more severe and more abstract than just memories. "Well, there's sort of a reason I never meditate." Awful start, weak. Gohan critiqued himself briefly on the delivery before continuing, "I used to have visions all the time, memories of the Cell Games. They'd just come at the worst times. I'd freeze up and be locked into a particular memory. Most were short. I'd just hear his laugh or see facial expressions of people there. But recently, though they've been getting less frequent, they've...been getting a little worse. They usually come up when I try to meditate. Today was an accident, but the vision just wouldn't let me go."

Piccolo erupted in rage, "And you waited until now to say something about it?!"

Gohan recoiled, wincing as the motion caused a pain to shoot through his limbs. "I was going to, but I never really found the right time. I didn't want you to be mad at me."

"And you didn't think I'd be mad if you delayed telling me?"

"I just didn't see why it was important!"

"Gohan, of all the idiotic things!" Piccolo punched the wall, causing the cave to shake a little from the force. "If you have a serious problem like that, you tell me. Immediately. No exceptions!"

Gohan dropped his head to his chest. "I'm sorry, Piccolo."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, Gohan. I've told you before to stop apologizing. You almost died today because you withheld critical information." Gohan felt small. Microscopic. Lower than dirt. He couldn't stand having Piccolo mad at him. If anyone else were to berate him like that, Gohan probably wouldn't have given it a second thought. But when Piccolo yelled at him, it meant something. It meant he was a disappointment. It meant he had failed as a student.

The silence between the two seemed to last an eternity. It was at least an hour or two before Gohan finally found his voice. "Piccolo, I promise I'll never keep secrets from you again. I didn't know that would happen." The statement was only partially true. Some things in life were better kept secrets.


	3. Chapter 2: Stress Fracture

**A/N: Okay, so the last chapter seemed to be hinting that I would start the Piccohan part of the story soon, but bear with me. That probably won't happen for several more chapters. I have done some serious thinking and plot work the past two days. There are a few things I need to happen before any of that can take place. So for any of you romantics looking for that, stick around. It will come eventually! For those of you who like plot and action, these next few chapters might be more entertaining for you than those reading for Piccohan. ;) Again, any suggestions are welcome. I'm doing a lot of work on the editing side of writing. Self-improvement is what I'm going for here. Anyway I can make this story better, from plotting to description to style/formatting. I'm not sure if my chapters are long enough as is, so I might see if I can work on extending length of future chapters to give some longer sections without overdoing it. Enjoy the chapter! I'm not sure how much longer I can keep up the frequency of these updates, but I will try my hardest to keep the wait to a minimum while my coursework is still light. That is all I have to say for now, and, without further ado, here's chapter two!**

The next few days were...tense. At least, Gohan felt a tension. Piccolo hardly said a word to him unless it pertained to training. Gohan didn't even go with his mentor to the waterfall. Instead, he went straight to bed after training. It was now, three days later, that Gohan made an attempt to break down the wall between them. It was just too much. They were sitting across from each other. Each just staring into the other's eyes, expression neutral. Gohan closed his eyes and turned away. He took a deep breath before looking back at Piccolo. "What the hell did I do?" he shouted, his voice coming out louder than he had intended. He leaned back slightly as if the power of his voice had a backwards force to it. He held Piccolo's gaze once more, but this time, Gohan's expression was far from neutral.

"I'm not sure what you are referring to, kid, but before you start making accusations, you haven't been exactly talkative yourself."

"Piccolo, you haven't said a damn word to me outside of training in three days! To most normal people, that would constitute something being wrong. But you know, I guess you aren't exactly normal." Ouch. Where had that come from? Too late. It was already out.

"Gohan, what is your problem?" There was an edge to the Namekian's voice.

Gohan jumped to his feet, his vision blurring from tears. When had he started crying? At this point he didn't care. How could Piccolo just ignore him for days and then deny it like that? "Forget it! I hate you! I never want to see you again!" he shouted back before turning and taking off into the air. He needed to get away. He flew as fast as he could, not caring what consequences might result from his sharp increase in ki. He knew Piccolo couldn't catch him even if he wanted to. He didn't want Piccolo to follow him. He wanted to be alone to think.

Piccolo was mad at him, and now Gohan knew he had probably made it worse with his outburst. It just got to him. He had lost control and said some things he knew he'd regret. He couldn't have dealt with it a moment longer if he had wanted to. Perhaps he could have handled the situation a little more delicately, but it was too late now. What was done was done. There was nothing Gohan could do to change it. He felt hopeless.

He came to an abrupt stop, letting himself hover. What was he doing? Where could he go? He hadn't seen his family in five years. Goha turned and looked back towards the direction of Piccolo's ki. He shook his head. No. He couldn't go back. Not now. Not after that._ I'm sorry._ Gohan turned away once more and continued his flight, not caring if his words had been heard or not.

* * *

Piccolo stared after his student in disbelief. What had just happened? Maybe he had been giving the kid the cold shoulder the past few days, but that was not a reaction he was expecting. His throat made a sound that was a cross between a growl and a sigh. "Gohan, what are you doing?" He wondered if it would be best to follow or just let it go. He chose the latter. The kid would get over it and come back. Wouldn't he? He always had in the past. But what if now was different?

_Kami, I have to stop this. He's just my student. Nothing more. He can handle himself just fine. I don't care what he does anymore. Crazy kid. He'll get himself killed if he doesn't learn more control._ Piccolo closed his eyes and let himself hover in the lotus position. Meditate. Give it some time. Give the kid his space. That was all the situation required.

As he drifted into his thoughts, he could have sworn he heard Gohan's voice. It was soft, but the message was unmistakable: _I'm sorry._ The voice didn't sound like an apology. It sounded like a goodbye.

Piccolo jolted out of his meditation a few moments later. A large ki had just dropped to almost zero. Gohan. He took off in the direction of the ki as fast as he could push himself to go. When he sensed he was over the ki, he looked down, scanning the landscape. He didn't see Gohan anywhere. But he had felt him. Then, he picked up the ki again. Immediately, he knew that the ki had dropped to zero and returned. Piccolo dived down to find his student lying in a pool of blood. By the looks of it, Gohan had fallen out of the sky and smashed his head against a rock.

Cursing, Piccolo picked Gohan up. The kid looked so weak in his arms. Piccolo gasped in shock when Gohan's eyes opened slightly. "Piccolo," he acknowledged weakly. Then, his eyes closed once more.

"Hold on, kid. Don't you dare die on me." Piccolo launched into the air, frantically looking around for signs of a town or even just a house, anyone who could help. He couldn't just take Gohan back to the camp. They didn't have supplies for anything like this. Why had the boy taken off like that? "The things I do for you," Piccolo grumbled, taking off in the direction of the boy's house, the closest place he could think of where he knew for sure there would be help. As much as he didn't want to deal with that woman, he saw no other choice.

* * *

Piccolo didn't even knock. He kicked the door open. "Chi-Chi! Get some bandages and get in here! Now!"

The woman came running in. "What are you doing here and why did you- Oh my gosh! Gohan! What did you do to my baby?"

"I didn't do anything! Just go get him some bandages!" The woman gave a small cry before turning and running back to the room she had come from. Piccolo gently laid the boy down on the couch as Chi-Chi came rushing back into the room with white cloth. He stood back as she wrapped Gohan's head carefully.

"Does he- did you- are there any broken bones?" she stammered, examining the placement and tightness of the bandages.

"I don't think so. I wasn't there when it happened, but it looked like his head took most of the force away from the fall when he hit the rock." The woman's only response was to gasp and fall to her knees, reduced to a sobbing mess. Piccolo snorted. Humans. "He'll be fine." Piccolo started as he remembered something. He walked over to the boy and pulled a senzu bean out of the kid's pocket. Goku had always said something about keeping a spare senzu bean at all times. He had, apparently, passed this idea on to his son. Piccolo leaned over Gohan, placing the bean in the kid's mouth and forcing him to swallow it. Almost immediately, the ragged, uneven breaths returned to normal. Chi-Chi looked up to see what had caused the change.

"What…."

"Senzu bean. Let me know when he wakes up." Saying nothing else, Piccolo turned and exited the building. He couldn't stand being in there with that woman and her infernal noise.

* * *

Gohan opened his eyes. Where was he? He was on a couch. He heard a noise and looked toward the sound. "Mom?"

"Gohan! Thank heavens you're okay! What happened, honey? What did that nasty green man do to you?" Her expression changed suddenly. She glared at Gohan. "Where have you been for the past five years, young man?! You just left me here! You left without even saying goodbye! You don't even know your younger brother! For goodness sake, you could have at least left a note!"

What? Gohan was confused. It could have been from the headache. He reached up and felt bandages. Had he hit his head? How hard did he hit? Younger brother? "I have a younger brother?"

Chi-Chi gave an indignant shriek. "Yes, you have a brother! Look at you! You don't even care about your family anymore! What happened to the sweet baby boy I raised?" Now she was crying. Gohan just stared at his mother. He had forgotten how she could be sometimes. He shifted to sit up. Then, he slowly stood and started walking towards the open door. "And where do you think you're going? You are not leaving again, Gohan! You have no idea how hard the past five years have been! I lost your father. Then I lost you. Then Goten was born, and-" She was crying again.

"Mom, I'm sorry. I had to. Look, if I would have stayed, I would have died. Not literally, but I would have wasted my life away. Piccolo saw that. He got me to snap out of it. I couldn't come back after that. Being here was just too much. I had to get myself right again." He continued as he began to remove the bandages, "I'm sorry I left you without saying goodbye, but if I would have, I wouldn't have been able to go. Mom, I love you, but I can't be here. Not after what happened. Even now." Crouching, he rested a hand on his mother's shoulder. "It's just...I blame myself, Mom. As much as I try not to, I feel responsible for Dad's death. I know it was his choice now, but I still feel like I could have prevented it. Maybe someday I can come back to stay, but not today. Not now."

Gohan stood once more. He walked over to a bookcase and picked up a picture of himself as a child, being held by his father. He put it back. "I love you, Mom, but I have to leave again." There were tiny footsteps running down the hall from Gohan's old room.

"Mommy, who's-" the little voice stopped. Gohan was looking at a small child who looked exactly like his father. "You….Mommy?" The child turned to look at Chi-Chi, who was in the process of standing up.

"Goten, this is your older brother. Do you remember me telling you about Gohan?"

The child, Goten, nodded happily. "It's him! Is he back here to stay, Mommy?" He turned to Gohan. "Can you stay, Gohan? Please? Why did you leave? Mommy missed you."

Gohan bit his lip, holding back a tear. He got down on his knees to be at the boy's level. "Goten, I'm so glad to see you. I'm sorry I haven't been around to be the older brother you deserve." He thought for a moment on how to word the next part. "Take care of Mom for me. You might understand when you're older, but for now I can only tell you that I can't stay. It's not because I don't want to. I love you and Mom very much. That is why I have to go." He stood, ruffling his little brother's hair.

Goten looked like he was about to cry. "But….but...you just came back." He dropped his head in defeat. Gohan hugged him.

"I know. I'm sorry. It's out of my control." Gohan released his brother and straightened. "Mom, do me a favor. Let him train. Don't make him study. One day, when I can come back, I want my little brother to be able to land a good punch on me." Goten lifted his head as his expression brightened slightly.

Chi-Chi clenched her fists, but then released them. "Gohan, just promise me you will come back."

Gohan nodded. "I promise." He turned and left his former home, doing his best to resist the urge to look back. Taking to the air, he noticed the familiar ki following him. He veered left and dropped back to fly beside Piccolo. That was where he belonged now.

* * *

When the two warriors landed, Piccolo turned to Gohan. The boy's blood-caked hair made him look more like a Saiyan than ever before. Still, there was a certain frailty behind the boy's gaze. The Namekian folded his arms. How should he deal with this in the best possible way? "Gohan, what happened at the waterfall- was that what happened today?"

The boy's expression turned to a grimace. "Sort of. It just came over me for no reason this time. Sort of like it used to do occasionally. Except this time, the memory was even more...violent."

Piccolo tried not to allow the concern to reach his face. "How so?"

"I- I just know it was sort of like….I was there. It wasn't just a memory. It was like I was there again. I felt Cell. His ki, the blows, everything. When I fell...it was toward the beginning of the battle. When he threw me into the mountain and it collapsed around me. I didn't feel just my head hitting the rock. I felt the mountain collapse and bury me again."

How was it even possible? The boy wasn't just remembering the event. He was literally reliving it. At the waterfall, there had been red marks around his neck. Now, Piccolo could see that Gohan hadn't hit his head on the rock at all. It was the same injury the kid had had when he emerged from the rubble of the mountain. Back then, Gohan had been too caught up in the battle for it to affect him, but he had spent some time in the hospital for a concussion after the battle upon his mother's insistence. Now it was time to show concern. "Gohan, I want you to stay near me at all times these next few weeks. If this thing is as serious as it sounds, it needs to be watched. I'm not sure what is going on, but it's important that we figure it out."

Gohan looked alarmed. "Is it really that bad, Piccolo?" Piccolo simply nodded. He wasn't going to sugarcoat it. This was a huge problem. From what the boy had already said about it, it had started out as no big deal, but now it was getting worse. "What can I do to stop it? It happens, but it's out of my control. I don't even know how I could prevent it. Usually it's when I'm meditating or asleep, but a few times it has just happened."

"I know, Gohan. I want to try something. I'm going to need you to trust me."

"I do trust you, Piccolo. You know I do."

Piccolo grumbled. "Gohan, just listen. You aren't going to like this. I need you to meditate. I know that will cause you to have the flashbacks, and I need to see what is triggering them. That is why I need you to trust me." He could already see the hesitation in his student's expression. "As I've said in the past, kid, I won't let anything happen to you. If you can't handle it, I'll know and pull you out of it."

Gohan nodded. "Okay, I'll do it." Reluctantly, he sat down and closed his eyes, levitating just slightly off the ground.


	4. Chapter 3: Piccolo Gets a Second Opinion

**A/N: Home for the weekend! So of course I had to take my work home with me. And by work, I mean my laptop and notes/sample outlines for this story. Thus we have Chapter Three. Before we plunge into this chapter, allow me to talk a little about where the last one left off. The main point of last chapter was to set up a chain to get more in depth with Piccolo and Gohan's relationship while allowing Gohan to bring some closure to the family he left behind. This chapter will serve as another stepping stone, so to speak. It is short. It is a transitional filler of sorts, rather than a full blown chapter. Upon coming home, I had a chat with my dad who has been a Dragonball fan since I was a small child. He was the one who got me into the series. I still remember watching the Frieza, Cell, and Buu Sagas with him as a preschooler/kindergartner. If it weren't for him (and a few wonderful English teachers,) I probably wouldn't be writing this story right now. Anyway, I asked him to evaluate my plot so far and where I wanted to take the story. He gave me some ideas I hadn't even thought of that I will definitely use and re-watched the whole Cell Saga with me today, so kudos to him for being such an awesome Dad! My story now has more direction that I would have been able to create for it. :)**

** I'd just like to say a really quick thank you to those reading, favoriting, reviewing, etc. this story! It means a lot to me to know that there is an audience, especially one that is actually enjoying the story! I did not expect this story to be received well at all, so it is amazing to see the great reviews. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to send those my way! Thank you so much for reading! Enjoy this chapter as my gift to you all for being awesome! I even tried to make it for everyone. Little action to start, getting the ball rolling on the new villain, gift for the Piccohan shippers at the end in the form of a bread crumb thing. :D**

* * *

**_Cell stood before the young saiyan warrior. He was formidable, giving off an air of danger, but Gohan knew he couldn't back down. This was one fight he could not afford to lose. As he geared up for the next round of the battle, the monster just laughed. "Don't tell me you still think you can beat me."_**

**_ Gohan narrowed his eyes, glaring at his foe. "I'm not scared of you, Cell. Just leave Earth and my friends alone. Your fight is with me." The only response was a chuckle. "You don't want to make me angry. I will kill you if you make me angry."_**

**_ This didn't deter Cell. Instead, it seemed only to pique his interest. "Oh? Is that a threat?" He smirked. "Do elaborate, boy. I am listening."_**

* * *

Piccolo watched Gohan. The boy seemed peaceful at first. Then, it started. At first, he just seemed slightly distressed. His fists were clenched tight and he grit his teeth. Then, Gohan's ki started moving in a pattern Piccolo recognized from five years ago. Mentally, Gohan was now in the battle. There was a pause in the cycle. Piccolo thought back, trying to remember the details. Then it dawned on him. Gohan had stopped to talk to Cell. He had tried to convince the monster to give up. This was just before the Cell Juniors were created to attack the rest of the group in an attempt to release Gohan's true power.

This meant things could get really bad really fast.

Piccolo placed his hand on Gohan's head. If he could intervene, now was the time to do it. _Gohan, it's just a memory. You don't need to be afraid. Just stop thinking about it. Change it into something else._ He wasn't sure if his words had reached Gohan, but suddenly the kid seemed more relaxed. That hadn't happened at any point in the battle. Piccolo took a deep breath, ready to take action if things still took a turn for the worst.

* * *

_Gohan, it's just a memory. You don't need to be afraid. Just stop thinking about it. Change it into something else._ Gohan jumped in surprise. He looked up at his mentor, but saw that Piccolo was busy talking to Goku. That couldn't have been him. But it was his voice. _Just a memory. _Curious, Gohan took the advice. He closed his eyes and imagined a day at the waterfall with Piccolo. Yes, he was at the waterfall with Piccolo. He concentrated on this thought until he heard the sound of moving water. He opened his eyes. He was sitting in the lotus position, floating in the air beside his mentor. A smile crossed his face. Just a memory. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes once more, soaking in the sound of the waterfall while slipping into deep thought.

* * *

Gohan opened his eyes and touched his feet to the ground. "Piccolo? So it was you. In the memory, I forgot you were here. It worked, though! I was able to change the memory into another!"

Piccolo couldn't keep from letting a half smile slip through. "Good job, kid. Just try to remember to do it every time one of the memories comes back." He couldn't help being wary of this. It still didn't explain how Gohan had been physically injured just by remembering getting injured in the past. He would still have to keep an eye on the kid. "It's really late. You should get some sleep. Tomorrow's training will be a little harder than it has been the past few weeks."

As the boy retreated into the cave to go to bed, Piccolo took off for another destination. There was something he had to do.

* * *

When he woke the next morning, Gohan didn't notice Piccolo's ki nearby. He had felt his mentor leave when he went to bed. That wasn't out-of-the-ordinary, but usually, Piccolo was back by the time Gohan got up. He searched the area to see if he could locate his missing mentor. Finally, he was successful. Piccolo was quite a distance off. What was he doing so far away? He wasn't training or meditating. His current ki levels weren't consistent with either of those actions. _Piccolo?_

There was no reply for several minutes. Then: _Gohan, I am a little preoccupied at the moment. New plan for the day. Your training will be on your own. I won't be back until this evening. _

Gohan groaned. He hated training on his own. He needed an opponent to push him so that he wouldn't slack off. For a second he wondered what Piccolo could possibly be doing but decided it wasn't his business. Starting off with some light stretching, he began his workout.

* * *

"Woman, I swear, if you don't tell me what is wrong with Gohan-"

The old purple-haired woman snorted. "You'll what? What could you, a mortal, possibly hope to do against me?" Piccolo grimaced in disgust. Every time the blasted woman spoke, spit flew from her mouth, showering any who were unfortunate to be in close proximity. Then, with a cackle, she croaked, "I will, however, agree to help. On the condition that you treat me with the respect I deserve! It wouldn't be the first time I've done the Son family a favor. That lot, they're a special bunch. Especially that Goku! Speaking of Goku, how is the fellow?"

"Dead," Piccolo growled. Wasn't she supposed to be a fortune teller?

"That's unfortunate," she said, getting down off her crystal ball. "I guess I haven't checked up on him in a while. It's really the man's power level. It drives my poor crystal ball bananas!"

"Yeah, yeah. Can it. Just tell me about Gohan!"

"Whatever happened to respect, Namek?" she spat. "Hmph." She did some motions, staring intently into the ball. "Ahhhhhh. Oh my. Oh dear me. What is thissssss?"

Piccolo cried out in frustration, "What the hell is it you're seeing, woman? Spit it out!" Oh, King Kai would've had a blast with this conversation.

The witch collected her composure, stepping back from her crystal ball. "Your boy, he's… under attack. This force, it's had a hold on him since Cell was destroyed. It's growing. I… I've never seen this happen before. I suppose it is possible, though. You see, in the way that a benevolent being can communicate from the Otherworld, such as the -uh- King Kai does, an evil being from Hell can do the same. A being, one that was once weak, has been communicating with Gohan through these visions you spoke of. It's power is growing, and it's attacks are getting more violent. They aren't just in the boy's mind anymore!"

Piccolo stood for a moment, mouth agape. He let it sink in. How? What was after Gohan? _Cell. _"It's Cell!"

"Well, I suppose that's a possibility, deary, but don't jump to-"

"Just shut up! The kid's life is at stake! Tell me how to fix it," Piccolo said, impulsively grabbing the woman by her black robe and lifting her off the ground.

"Put me down, you fool!" She twisted and slapped Piccolo. It actually hurt a little. Perhaps he needed that a little. He dropped the woman. "The boy will be fine. I don't think Cell is trying to hurt Gohan at the moment."

"But you just-"

She held up a finger. "Now, Piccolo, I said he was communicating and getting a little violent. I have seen the intent behind these actions. Cell is not trying to kill Gohan. He is trying to give the kid a message. But the boy's mind isn't opened enough for him to hear it. Because _someone _taught him how to shut people out." The fortune teller stared pointedly at Piccolo. He was outraged.

"You can't be serious! You're saying this is my fault?"

"No, idiot! I'm saying he wouldn't have to be violent with the boy if the kid would just stop shutting him out!"

"Gohan is not going to open his mind and let in that monster! That's outrageous!"

The woman sneezed, taking out a hankie and blowing her nose. "You prideful-"

"I don't have time for this! Look, I've heard what you can do, lady. How about you just go to the Otherworld for me and tell Cell to cut the crap. Have him give you the message, and bring it back to me so I can tell Gohan. Then, Cell can leave him alone."

The fortune teller was stunned. "Well, I- I can't actually…. Hmph." She folded her arms. "Fine, I will do this for the boy. Though I doubt it will help matters. Give me a second." She sighed and disappeared.

Piccolo growled. "This is ridiculous. What could that monster want if not revenge?" The woman reappeared, her face white. "Well?"

"Well, it seems you might have a reason to be concerned. Cell has informed me that there is a force headed for Earth. It is a long way off now, but it is causing quite the stir in Otherworld. He wants to destroy the Earth himself, but he fears that won't even be possible if this thing reaches the planet."

"What?" Something else? It was too soon. Sure, five years was a long time to train, considering there had been shorter time constraints in the past, but now they were down to three fighters. One of which hadn't recovered from the last battle yet. "You've….no."

The fortune teller nodded. "I felt it, too. When I was down there, it just seemed…this power level. It will be here in seventy-three days! None of you are a match for it! Not even Gohan. I don't understand it. I look into the crystal ball and…" She didn't finish the sentence.

"What? What did you see?" Piccolo demanded.

The woman shrugged. "I can't say. It might change things."

Piccolo punched the wall, leaving a sizable dent in the metal framework. "Then you are useless. My time here has been a waste."

Piccolo stood to leave. As he reached the door, the woman called out to him, "Piccolo?" He stopped, but didn't turn to face her. "I wish you and Gohan happiness together in the end. It is against my contract to tell you how things turn out, but it seems that there's one thing that is set in stone in all timelines. She has your eyes, but his tail. He has a green tint to his skin, but a Saiyan's hair."

Piccolo gritted his teeth, closing his eyes. How is that even possible? _No, it isn't possible._ There would be nothing between them. Ever. Besides, he was sure that, to Gohan, he would always be Mr. Piccolo. A mentor, a friend. It just wasn't possible. He wouldn't get his hopes up. He took off without looking back. Crazy woman.


	5. Chapter 4: Jumping Through Hoops

**A/N: I'm going to start making these author's notes shorter, I promise! Eventually, I might even stop making them completely. This is going to be our longest chapter yet, and I want to warn everyone ahead of time that there will be a lot going on. I'm going to try to keep this slow, but some parts may seem a little rushed. Even my very best attempts end up that way just because I'm afraid of hitting that mark of having too much description. Just let me know if I need to slow down at any point or if I should clarify anything going on. We will catch up with some of the other characters in this chapter, so that's exciting. I'm not going to unveil the villain quite yet, but hopefully that will be worth the wait. Sorry I took so long with this update, but I didn't want it to be terrible. I'm still nervous about it, though, because it sets up so much for later chapters. Anytime I do a chapter with a huge plot point, I get nervous. If I'm not especially busy, that's usually what will account for delays in updates. I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)**

Gohan was lounging against a tree when he saw Piccolo land a short distance away. Futilely, he leaped to his feet, pretending he was in the middle of training. His mentor did not seem amused. "We need to leave. Now," Piccolo said firmly before shooting back up into the sky. Something was wrong.

Gohan took off after Piccolo, catching up with no trouble. _Piccolo?_

The man glowered, but responded all the same. _We're going to get Vegeta. As much as I hate to admit it, we'll need his help real soon. There's something coming. What exactly, I do not know, but it is powerful beyond belief. I'm sorry, Gohan. Play time's over. We need to get some real training in before this thing gets here if we even want a chance at beating it._

Gohan glanced over at Piccolo. Gohan had gotten more powerful since beating Cell. If Piccolo didn't think Gohan could defeat this thing, what chance did any of them really have? Even with training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, how much more power could any of them gain before they reached the maximum? _Piccolo, if my ascended Super Saiyan form can't beat this thing, is there anything that can beat it?_

_I don't know, Gohan! But we have to at least try!_ Piccolo snapped. Instantly, Gohan felt the Namekian's regret. Piccolo hadn't meant to yell at him, but he was starting to worry. _Kid, I don't know what's going to happen. All we can do is work to the limit and hope it's enough._

Gohan wished Goku were still alive. If he were still here, they would undoubtedly be able to defeat anything that would attack the planet. The feeling of depression and hopelessness washed over him like a tidal wave._ It's all my fault. Why couldn't I have just killed him when I was told to?_ The thought just latched on. It was one he would never abolish.

As they touched down at the Briefs' residence, Gohan felt another pang of regret. He hadn't seen Bulma since the funeral. She had asked him to stay in touch. Gohan heard some shouting inside. "Oh, just shut up, woman! The child is fine. I didn't even hit him that hard!"

"Vegeta, I can't stand you sometimes! Our son does not need to be a fighter! He's six! At least try to show some sensitivity, you jerk! He has a black eye!"

Piccolo grimaced. He never had been able to deal with Bulma's voice. Gohan couldn't help but smiling remembering one conversation where Piccolo told him that Bulma's voice was worse than Gohan's whistling. The smile was short lived. That conversation was just before they left for the Cell Games. After Gohan's eleventh birthday party. "Will you shut up and get the door? Kakarot's son and the Namek are here!"

Glass shattered. "Gohan's here?!" Footsteps. The door flew open. "Gohan! Hey, kid!" Bulma ran and threw her arms around him. "You've grown up! Come in!" Gohan followed her into the house. Piccolo stayed outside. "It's been so long! What have you been up to?"

"Just training as usual, I guess. Hey, Vegeta!" Vegeta grumbled in response.

"Oh, don't mind him. He's been a little crabby lately." She sat down beside a young boy with purple hair. The boy eyed Gohan curiously. "Trunks, this is Gohan! He's Goten's older brother."

"I know who he is, Mommy. Goten showed me pictures. I just thought he'd be taller," Trunks said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Are you really as strong as Goten said you are? You don't look very strong."

"Trunks!"

Gohan laughed. "It's fine, Bulma. Well, Trunks, sometimes the strongest warriors don't look very tough. Don't let your eyes trick you. Can you sense my power?"

The boy narrowed his eyes intently. "Sort of. It's a little fuzzy." Then he gasped. "Woah! What was that? It's gone now, but…"

Vegeta stepped forward, placing a hand on Trunks' head, a gesture which appeared to Gohan to be a way of silencing the boy. "What do you want? I know you didn't bring the Namek here for no reason."

Gohan sighed. Oh, yeah. That. "Vegeta, we need your help. There's something else coming. It's powerful. Much more powerful than Cell."

The Saiyan's smirk fell to a frown. "I can't help you. Forget it." Vegeta walked away.

"Vegeta!" Gohan called after him. Vegeta paused. "Please! We can't do this without you. I'm not strong enough. Not even as an ascended Super Saiyan. But I think maybe, just maybe, we could do it if we could train in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. If I can reach a level beyond Super Saiyan, I'm positive you could do it, too! Please, just consider it." Gohan did nothing to disguise the desperation in his voice. If Vegeta wouldn't help, they had no chance at all.

Vegeta turned back to face him. He laughed. "You think I would subjugate myself to being trained by a half-blood, third class brat like you? I'd rather watch the world go up in flames around me than stoop to that."

"Can I help, Gohan? I'm strong! So is Goten! Well, sort of. He's still a little bit of a wimp. But we can help, maybe!" Trunks grinned, a hopeful expression on his face. Gohan couldn't help but smile. The kid would be a great warrior someday with that kind of enthusiasm.

"I'm sorry, Trunks, but I don't think that would be a good idea. This guy's pretty tough."

Vegeta threw his head back laughing. He folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, please. What help could two children ever offer in a battle of that caliber? Son, I didn't think I raised you to be a fool. You and Kakarot's brat wouldn't last five seconds in a real battle." The boy's expression fell.

"Vegeta! That was a terrible thing to say!" Bulma cried. "Why do you have to be so mean to him? He looks up to you!"

Gohan walked over to Trunks and bent down to the kid's level. "Hey, ignore your dad. He means well. Trunks, this is an adult battle. I would never want you and Goten going into something this dangerous. Give it time. Train hard and build yourself up. Someday, I can tell you will be a powerful warrior. You might even be as strong as your dad and me. Maybe stronger if you work at it. Keep your head up."

"Wonderful speech, Gohan," Vegeta said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But I am sure you and the Namek have somewhere to be."

Gohan stood. "Vegeta, are you sure you don't want to help?"

"Let me ask you something, kid, just how strong do you think this thing is? You honestly think that a big strong Super Saiyan like yourself couldn't take it head on? Considering you're the only one of us who has pushed to the next level, I'd say I would be very little help to you even if I did decide to humor you and come along. I would be about as useless as those idiot friends your dad kept around. All they did was stand off to the side while the real warriors fought. I refuse to be reduced to that."

Gohan took a breath. "Vegeta, just listen! If you don't help, Earth will be destroyed, and so will you. Since when is refusing a fight Saiyan nature? You pride yourself so much on being the last full blood Saiyan left, so how about you try acting like one?!" Gohan braced himself for what he knew would come next. A sharp pain shot through his skull as he flew across the room and slammed into a wall. Bulma gasped and pulled Trunks off to the side away from Gohan and Vegeta.

"You little brat! After all I've done for you and your worthless father, you still have no respect. You want to handle this like Saiyans? How about we move this little disagreement outside like real warriors?"

Vegeta lunged toward Gohan, only to be thrown out of the way. Piccolo helped Gohan to his feet. "Enough, Vegeta. We don't need your help. Gohan, we've got to get going."

"Not so fast, Namek! I'll give you this warning once. When you decide to take a student, you'd best teach him to respect his elders. Not doing so could result in some...undesirable consequences."

"How about this as a warning, Saiyan: you touch so much as a hair on his head and you'll wish you could regenerate limbs." Piccolo pushed Gohan towards the door. "Let's go, kid."

* * *

The trip to the Lookout was thankfully quicker than Piccolo had remembered. He figured in the best they could do was spend a few days real time in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. If he could just push Gohan to the next level, if it existed, they might be able to survive this. If not, maybe he could at least try to advance himself to match the kid's strength. It was better than sitting back and doing nothing.

Dende was overjoyed to have visitors. Piccolo almost felt bad rushing Gohan's conversation with the young Namekian, but they had work to do. They could chat another day. If there was another day. "You came at a good time," Dende commented as he led them to the chamber. "Mr. Popo just restocked it. There should be enough food for two people to last a year, but since Piccolo doesn't eat, you might be able to be in there for two years. Or well, I guess two days real time. This stuff is still a little new to me."

"Thanks, Dende! I'll come visit you once all this is over," Gohan replied cheerfully as they entered the wooden door. It closed behind him as he ran to catch up to Piccolo. "Piccolo, did we really need to rush here so early?"

"Gohan, if you can get to the next level of your training now, you can spend the rest of the time outside harnessing the power it brings. Do you remember what happened during the Cell Games? You trained with your dad just before fighting Cell, and you had no control over that power. It doesn't matter what you are capable of if you can't control it."

Gohan nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Do you really think there's a level of strength beyond an ascended Super Saiyan?"

"Kid, I don't know. What I do know is that up until five years ago, I didn't know a power existed beyond Super Saiyan. And six years before that, I didn't know that there was even such thing as a Super Saiyan. In fact, I thought all of us had reached the maximum power we ever would. Going off of that, it's worth a shot. I don't know if there's another level for you to go to, but the worst that can happen is we find out you've maxed out your power. At the very least, you'll gain more control over what power you do have." Piccolo's eyes wandered the room. Two years to train. How could they break that up in a way that wouldn't be overdoing it?

"Hmmm." The Saiyan knocked a golden strand of hair out of his eyes. "Are we starting training now?"

Piccolo removed his turban and cape, dropping them to the ground. There was no way he could keep up with the kid in increased gravity while wearing weights. "Yes, we need to make the best of the time we do have here. How heavy are the weights you're wearing?"

Gohan paused a moment, thinking. "Um, I think last time I upped it, I left it at a thousand kilos."

A thousand? How could the kid still move? "And you've been training with it on at all times?"

"Yeah, just for the past four years. Five hundred was getting to be too easy."

That explained the point where Piccolo thought the boy was getting weaker. It was because he added more weight. He wondered how it would affect the kid with training in here. "Think you can handle that in ten times Earth's gravity? If not, remove the weights now. This is going to be high intensity training. I don't want you straining yourself and spending half the time recovering."

"I'll be fine," the kid brushed him off. "Besides, I need to get stronger, and you need a fair sparring partner. At least with the weights holding me back, I'll lose enough speed that we can fight on equal grounds for once."

Piccolo couldn't find an argument for that logic. "Yeah, whatever. Let's get started. We're wasting time."

Piccolo stepped over the threshold into the endless expanse of white with no trouble. When Gohan followed, the kid dropped to his knees. "Oh, wow. I guess that is a lot of extra weight. I kind of forgot what ten times gravity feels like." He pushed himself to his feet. "I just need a moment to-"

Impulsively, Piccolo threw a punch. Gohan caught it right before it could make impact. "Starting now does not mean you get time to adjust. After twelve years of training with me, I shouldn't have to tell you that. That was a warning shot. The real fight begins as soon as you let go of my fist." Gohan nodded and let go, simultaneously jumping back to dodge the next attack.

The spar carried on for another fifteen minutes before Piccolo stopped it. "Gohan, you're doing it again. You can't stay on defense. You have to throw attacks as well as block. That's what got you in trouble in the first part of your fight with Cell. I want to see you make a real attempt to injure me."

Gohan frowned. "Piccolo, I don't want to injure you. What if I hit you too hard and you don't recover?"

"If I can't take a punch from you, what makes you think I'd be of any help to you against whatever is coming?" Piccolo snapped. "Did I go easy on you when you were a child?"

"Well, no, but you weren't that much stronger than me. The gap between our strength is bigger now."

"How about you let me worry about that, kid? What you have in strength, I make up for in experience. Even if you throw your hardest punch, I'll see it coming. It's my fault if I don't dodge." Piccolo glared at his student. They would have a lot of work to do. That was what he believed to be Gohan's problem. The kid never trained at full strength. He was always too afraid of hurting someone to push himself far enough to improve. "I can't train you if you won't actually fight. Sorry, kid, but that's how it had to be. It's all or nothing. Use everything you've got or go home. There's no time for that nonsense."

Gohan still looked hesitant. "Fine, I'll do this your way, but I can't guarantee your safety after I power up. You're forgetting I still don't have perfect control over it."

"I'm not forgetting anything. Shut up and get yourself to full power."

WIthout another word, Gohan's ki shot up. His aura glowed as the blue energy crackled around him. Then, there was another surge. What? Impossible. Piccolo was sure the kid maxed at...unless… He had told Gohan to go to full power. Gohan was pushing beyond what they had ever done in training. At least he knew the kid was capable of reaching another level. Maybe they did still have a chance against the new threat. Piccolo stepped back a few steps out of caution. Soon, the whole place was shaking. It was unbelieveable. He struggled to stay on his feet as the force of the power surge pushed him back. Gohan's ki was still increasing. The blue lightening was getting more violent, more unstable. Gohan's muscles seemed to strain to keep the power contained inside of him. Piccolo had to put his hands up to protect his eyes from the violent wind. The kid was going to kill them both if he didn't get control over this. "Gohan! Stop!" The power suddenly peaked before rapidly dropping. It wasn't because Gohan had heard Piccolo. The kid lost it. He'd used up all his strength powering up. When Piccolo was able to look up again as the wind decreased, he watched Gohan completely lose Super Saiyan form and drop to the ground.

Piccolo ran to Gohan to check his pulse. The his ki was low, but he was still alive. He tried to lift the kid but was momentarily shocked by the unexpected weight. Oh, yeah. One thousand kilos. It was a bit of a strain, but Piccolo managed to get the kid back into the main chamber. From there, it was fairly easy to carry the kid and set him down on one of the beds. Hopefully it wouldn't take long for him to recover.

Piccolo turned, leaving Gohan. Even with Gohan down for now, he needed to try to get in some training. The time in here couldn't go to waste. _It's a good thing we have two years,_ Piccolo thought to himself._ All that power, but it's completely useless if he doesn't learn to control it._

* * *

"Trunks, I don't know if we should be doing this," Goten said as the boys hopped the fence. "I mean, I'm sure we aren't supposed to be this far from home. Remember what your mom said?"

The older boy laughed. "Relax, Goten. We're fine. Trust me. I've been out here with Dad loads of times. The path leads to an open field. It's the perfect place to train. Sheesh, you can be such a baby sometimes."

Goten frowned, crawling over a fallen tree. Trunks was pretty smart, but Goten wasn't so sure this was a good idea. They were going out into the middle of nowhere without telling anyone where they were going. With no adults supervising, what would they do if one of them got hurt? And he didn't even want to know what his mother's reaction would be to him going out in the woods with Trunks. She was still upset about Gohan, although Goten didn't understand why since his brother had promised to come back. Besides, Trunks and his parents said Gohan stopped by with the green guy just yesterday. That meant Gohan was safe. But was Goten safe? "Trunks, how much farther is it?"

"We're almost there. Stop whining. Warriors don't whine. It's not befitting."

"'Befitting'? What does that mean?"

"I don't know. It's something my dad said."

"Oh, okay." Trunks' dad said a lot of strange things like that. "Trunks, you said my brother was at your house. What did you think of him? He's supposed to be strong, but I couldn't feel it like you told me to. I felt the Piccolo guy's energy outside, but Gohan felt way weaker."

Trunks shot Goten a look. "I told you Dad says it doesn't work all the time. I know what you are talking about, though. It was hard, but I did feel him. For just a second. I hate saying this, but from what I felt, your brother is stronger than my dad."

"Wow! Really? That's way strong! Do you think we'll be that strong one day?"

Trunks chuckled. "Maybe if we keep at this training thing. We're both a gazillion times stronger than we were when we started." They reached the open field Trunks had mentioned. Finally. "Ok, so today I think we should work on the ki thing. All the grown up fighters I know can fly. I think if we can get that down, they might let us help them when this thing comes to Earth!"

"Trunks, we don't even know what this thing is! What if it's really, really strong?" Goten argued. Sometimes Trunks didn't stop to think.

Trunks groaned, slouching his shoulders forward in exasperation. "Goten, there is no way this thing is stronger than four Saiyan fighters."

"But how can you be sure? Trunks, we don't even know if-"

"Just drop it!" The two sat in silence, eyes locked. Finally Trunks folded his arms over his chest. "We should get started. We're losing daylight." Goten nodded. They started their usual stretching routine. "All right, now we picked up on ki blasts pretty fast, which means we know how to control ki at the very least. Dad tried to teach me flying yesterday. He said you just focus your ki on pushing yourself up from the ground."

Goten focused as he continued stretching. It didn't take long for him to realize he wasn't on the ground anymore. "Like this, Trunks?"

Trunks looked up and gasped. He quickly recollected himself. "Goten! What have I told you about starting without me?"

"Oh, sorry, Trunks," Goten said, dropping back to the ground. "I didn't mean to. I just wanted to see if the focus thingy worked. It does."

Trunks glowered. His feet left the ground. "It's fine. Just don't do it again. Go ahead and get up here with me. We can both levitate. That makes things easier. We just have to work on actual flying now."

As Goten drifted up to meet his friend, he heard a shrill screech from the other side of the field. "Son Goten, you get your feet back on the ground this instant! What on Earth are you boys doing out here alone?" Chi Chi sprinted towards the boys.

Goten's head dropped in embarrassment. He hated it when his mother yelled at him in front of Trunks. He didn't drop to the ground, though. "Mom, we're just learning to fly."

"I don't care what you're doing, mister! Get down here! You, too, Trunks! I am going to have a chat with your parents about this." Trunks' face turned red. Both boys floated down to touch the grass.

They had been caught. Their training was over for the day.

* * *

Thud. Gohan snapped awake to find himself on the floor beside the bed he had been sleeping in. Disoriented, he glanced at his surroundings. He caught his bearings. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Of course. He had come in with Piccolo...how long ago? Gohan looked to the clock. Three days ago. How long had he been out?

Gohan felt sore. His muscles ached with every movement as he headed towards the training area. Upon opening the door, he saw Piccolo inside. "Gohan, don't take another step until you take off those damn weights. Wear them in here, and I will just leave you next time you pass out." Normally, that threat would've made Gohan laugh. It sounded pretty serious this time, though.

"What happened?" Gohan asked as he removed his shirt. It was the heaviest weight he was wearing. Gohan wondered if he could get away with leaving the wristbands and boots on.

Piccolo's eyes narrowed. "I asked you to power up to reach your maximum power. You used too much strength powering up and lost consciousness. Then, I had to carry you and all one thousand kilos to your bed."

Gohan couldn't resist a grin. "Oh, sorry." He took a step into the training area.

"How much weight did you leave on?"

"Five hundred. One hundred and twenty-five for each wristband and each boot." Piccolo grumbled something unintelligible. "I have to keep some weight to get stronger," Gohan explained.

He dodged just in time as a ki blast flew by. It was time to resume training.


	6. Chapter 5: Time Crunch

**A/N: Okay, first off, I am so sorry it took me so long to get an update finished. I had midterms and joined a few clubs that have been sucking my time away. As I mentioned in the beginning, I'm still not entirely sure how much college will mess with my writing schedule. I have realized my day-to-day schedule is still super erratic. I never know how much free time I will have on a given day, but I do the best I can with what time I have. This update is kind of short as a result, but I guess the goal should always be quality not quantity. Secondly, this and the subsequent chapter will be a little different. I am trying to skip over some time, particularly for Gohan and Piccolo because I realize that I definitely cannot write two years worth of training. I am not particularly good at writing action in the first place, so that would be a disaster waiting to happen. This chapter here is a year skip for them, a day skip for everyone else. I apologize for Vegeta. He's probably going to be out of character every time the story is in his point-of-view. I only put him in this chapter for the purpose of clarifying that he *is* training, despite what he led Piccolo and Gohan to believe. That's all I'm going to say for now. I'll try to have the next one up more quickly. Hopefully it'll only be a week or two at most. Enjoy this update!**

* * *

"Goten! Psst! Over here!" Trunks called, doing his best to keep his voice down. The last thing they needed was to blow their cover. Goten scurried over after glancing around to make sure his mom wasn't watching. She sure was a pain sometimes. Trunks briefly wondered if Chi-Chi suspected anything. It was his own mother's day off, but, rather than spending time with her, Trunks had been quite insistent that today was the day he come over to see Goten. "Now's our chance. I know we didn't get to practice flying much, but if we can just get into the air and get a good distance away, I'm sure our mothers wouldn't be able to catch up."

"But what about your dad?"

Trunks cringed, peeking into the other room to be sure that they hadn't been discovered. Goten really needed to learn how to talk quietly. "Shhhh! My dad doesn't care. I think he wants us to train. There's no reason we shouldn't. We are Saiyans and should be so much more powerful by now. We can't just let our moms hold us back like this." He saw the opening as soon as it presented itself. The phone rang in the kitchen. The sound of footsteps confirmed that Chi-Chi had gone to answer it. Trunks ran through the open door, dragging Goten behind him. "Come on!" he said, shooting up into the air.

Thankfully, Goten followed without argument. As soon as they were both airborne, Trunks took off for the mountains. There was no way anyone could interfere with their training there. This was serious. Even his dad had seemed concerned with this enemy. Trunks had seen the look in his eye when Gohan said it was stronger than Cell. It was something he had never seen in his father before.

Fear.

_I hope our good-bye letters were good enough. We're going to be out here for a long time. I just hope we make it back alive._ Trunks looked back over his shoulder one more time. _Dad, I hope I'll see you in battle. Mom, if I never see you again, I love you._ He knew they couldn't hear his thoughts, but it was comforting to repeat the words in his head. The fact that he could acknowledge the possibility of death and accept it would be a help in the fight ahead. As his dad had once said: To be a warrior, you must rid yourself of fear. Maybe he wasn't always the best father, but he sure was a good fighter. In that respect, Trunks wanted nothing more than to be just like his dad.

* * *

Gohan tensed, sensing only nothingness around him. If he didn't know better, he would think he was the only life form in the room. But just because you can't sense it, doesn't mean it isn't there. His opponent was certainly in the general vicinity. He was slightly irritated with himself for losing track of his target again. As his eyes shifted from side to side as he scanned the endless white for just a blur of green, it was as he expected. Nothing. Surely he was overlooking something.

And there it was. Gohan shivered as wind brushed the back of his gi. He whirled around to face the disturbance. By then it was too late. The wind was knocked out of him as he was propelled back several meters. That hurt. On the bright side, he had located Piccolo. Clutching his stomach, Gohan lurched to his feet. The Namekian had already disappeared once more. Then, a kick connected with the back of Gohan's head, knocking him on his knees. But he couldn't stop now. He rolled to face Piccolo. He was instantly aware of the fact that it wasn't the smartest decision. He probably could have spared the extra time to stand up. But it was too late now. His move had been made to face his opponent. But now what? What could he do? Once you're down, it's pretty well over. But maybe…

Without thinking, he launched a ki blast. That was a huge mistake at the close range. It was deflected back at him. A choked cry escaped his throat as the blast seared his face. His arms dropped to his sides in defeat. He had had enough. Piccolo stepped back and folded his arms. "Gohan, how many times have I told you that you need to start taking the offensive? You are not a defensive fighter. You never have been good at defense and probably never will be. Instead of trying to block and dodge, you need to start making some serious attacks. You were hardly a challenge that time."

"Piccolo, not now. We've been sparring for over twenty hours now. I need a break," Gohan said, gasping for breath. Every muscle in his body screamed, begging him to stop. The past few hours his form had only been getting worse and worse. At this point, Gohan was sleep deprived, hungry, and weak. He hoped Piccolo wouldn't insist on continuing. He didn't know how much longer he could last fighting like this.

"Get up and fight, kid. You're stronger than that. I know your limit and you're not even close to it yet. Until you can hit me, we aren't taking a break."

Gohan pushed himself to his feet, straining against the gravity. He had worked up to being able to use all one thousand kilos comfortably in this environment, but when he got tired like this, it became more of a struggle to carry the extra weight. "I won't hit you. Last time I hit you it took a week for you to recover. Besides, I couldn't land a punch on you right now if I wanted to. I'm exhausted!"

A fist slammed into Gohan's jaw, sending him flying. When he hit the ground, all of his weight landed on top of his arm. He didn't come to an immediate stop when he hit. He felt the burning sensation of the friction between his arm and the floor as he skidded to a halt. For some strange reason, the first thing that popped into his mind was the equation for the coefficient of kinetic friction. Why had he chosen to be a fighter instead of a scholar? He closed his eyes and took in a few deep breaths to bring his head back to the battle. Between the pain and the increasing pressure of the weights, Gohan couldn't find the strength to get up.

Piccolo towered over him, coal-black eyes locking on Gohan's. Gohan felt his heart skip a beat. Those eyes were so...captivating. "Gohan, I'll give you one more chance. Get up and fight. Now."

Back to reality. _Focus. _Gohan struggled to just get himself to his knees._ Get up. Come on. Have. To. End. This._ Using every ounce of will he had left, he pushed his body against the force of gravity. Planting his feet, finalizing the motion with a few shallow breaths, every movement felt sluggish. It felt like running in water. On top of that, he felt unsteady, dizzy, off-balance. Even in a defensive stance, it felt like he could topple over at any second. He could hardly see straight. There was no way he could last much longer. It was infuriating. Piccolo had to be delusional to think he could keep this up.

Blood and sweat trickling down his forehead obstructed his vision. _This is insane._ Impulse took over. "I'm done fighting today!" He shouted back. Gohan thought his arm was going to break from the force as his fist met its target. _Wait. Did I just…?_ He cringed, biting his tongue, withdrawing his arm back to hold it against his body. His arm. It was already injured bad enough to begin with. Now… Piccolo stumbled backwards, eyes wide in shock. A line of purple blood traced a connection between the corner of his mouth and his chin. The Namekian raised a hand to touch his face, fingers following the line, erasing its presence. As he stared at the purple fluid on his fingers, his eyes narrowed. He gritted his teeth as he turned his attention back to Gohan.

"There. I hit you. Happy?" Gohan felt the tears welling up in his eyes. No. He couldn't let them fall. Warriors don't cry. That was something beat into him from day one. A thought creeped into his mind._ Finish him, Gohan. He's weak._ The urge. There it was. The same animalistic feeling he had experienced all those years ago against that monster Cell. There was a part of Gohan that wanted to keep the fight going. A part of him that wanted to destroy. A part of him that wanted to kill. _No. I can't. Stop. _Piccolo wasn't an enemy.

It was the same sensation that came into being during any fight, even a spar. This was what his mentor didn't understand. No secrets, but… There was a clause. A limit to what he would and wouldn't tell Piccolo, despite that promise made over a year ago. He cared about Piccolo. He didn't want to hurt his only friend. That was why he was reluctant to fight anywhere near full power. That was why he tried to fight defensively instead of offensively. He didn't know what he was capable of doing now. And the urge was too strong. It grew stronger every fight. _How much longer until I lose control of it?_

"We only have a year left. Remember that." Piccolo growled, turning his back to Gohan.

Gohan felt his blood boil. If either of them had a right to be angry, it was him. He could understand being pushed to his limits, but Piccolo had gone too far during this fight. _Later._ For now, he just had to walk away. He knew he had to get out before he had the chance to lose control of himself.

Back in the main room, Gohan had to fight to get the weighted training clothes off. The boots and wristbands were easy, but the shirt stuck to his skin. It had soaked up his sweat, only adding to the weight of it. After struggling out of the weighted clothes, it took significantly less time to get all of his wounds dressed and bandaged. By the time Gohan accomplished that and had dinner, he was more than ready to collapse into his bed. Just as he was about to, Piccolo entered the room. Gohan couldn't tell which emotion was more overpowering: guilt or anger. He felt bad for hitting Piccolo, but at the same time, he felt like Piccolo deserved it. "Anything serious?"

"No," Gohan snapped, avoiding Piccolo's eyes.

The next few moments of silence felt like an eternity. Finally: "I will concede that it was a little extreme to have such a long, strenuous training session." Gohan shot him an incredulous look. A little? "Don't give me that look, kid. We're a bit tight on time, in case you forgot." He sat at the table. "Take a seat. I think we need to talk." Gohan stared at Piccolo for a long moment before giving in. What good would it do him to argue? Still. He crossed his arms, turning away slightly as he sat across from his mentor. Some emotion flickered on Piccolo's face for just a moment, but before Gohan could register what it was, it was gone. "You're acting like a child pouting like that."

Gohan turned abruptly, flipping the table off to the side. "Shut up! You really don't understand humans, do you? You may think you know where my limits are, but you're worse than my dad! I'm not invincible. I don't see why everyone seems to think I'm so strong! No matter how much we train, this is pointless. I can't beat this thing, Piccolo, and you know it. Stop pretending it's possible."

Complete silence fell over them. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber had to be the worst place to have a silence like this one. There was literally no other sound to be heard in the room but the sound of the two warriors breathing. Without a word, Piccolo stood and righted the table before walking away, back into the training room.

He didn't deny it.

With that singular gesture, the Namekian inflicted more damage on Gohan than any number of villains combined could have. His own teacher, the one person he respected most, had lost faith in him. Gohan slumped over in his seat, a sob rising from his chest. He hadn't cried for any reason other than pain in a long time. But what else could he do? The weight of the world was on his shoulders, and he couldn't hold it up much longer.

* * *

A smirk tugged at Vegeta's lips as he pulled his old Saiyan armor over his head. It just felt right to be back in real clothes. The garbage Bulma forced him to wear still felt foreign even after almost six years. _Six years_. He grimaced at the thought. He was weak. Domesticated. The only combat training Vegeta had done in that time was training Trunks. How could he have let this happen? The Prince of All Saiyans. His father would have been so disappointed.

Never mind that. He would fix that little problem here soon enough. Back to training. Back to fighting, the world he knew best. Vegeta still wanted to hit himself for not asking the Namek how long it would be before this enemy reached Earth. The fools. The nerve of Kakarott's son offering to "help" the Prince of All Saiyans train. That third class, half blood brat. And Kakarott. Screw him for dying like that! Screw him for letting Saiyan blood be shed so frivolously!

Vegeta gasped, jerking his head towards a sudden hint of an enormous ki. No. Surely it wasn't here already. He ran to the window. The sight caused him to chuckle. No. Of course not. The ki was too small to be from a being more powerful than Cell. Trunks and Goten zipped by overhead. The boys were heading towards the mountains. It occurred to him that those were the mountains he always took Trunks to for training. So the kid was serious about helping out after all. Vegeta frowned. Brave, but foolish. The two would only get in the way unless they had a way of fitting years of training into whatever time frame they had before this thing reached the planet. Of course, he figured the thing had to still be a good distance away. If it were close, surely he would be able to feel it. He wasn't that out of practice.

Now to get to work. Vegeta turned and cranked the old machine up to one hundred times gravity. He wasn't stupid enough to try picking up where he left off, but he wasn't about to take it easy either.


End file.
